Catch-22
By Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller
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Born May 1, 1923 in Brooklyn, NY to 2 very poor
Jewish parents
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In 1942 at the age of 19 he joined the US Army Air
Corps
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2 years later he was sent to the Italian Front where
he flew 60 missions as a B-25 bombardier
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After returning from the war he studied English at
NYU and received his masters from Columbia
University
He began teaching composition at Penn State and later taught fiction and
dramatic writing at Yale
He married Shirley Held in 1945 and they had 2 children
He wrote several satirical novels, short stories and plays
In 1981 he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome which would leave him
temporarily paralyzed
In 1984 he made a significant recovery and divorced his wife
He remarried to a nurse who aided him in his recovery
He died of a heart attack on December 12, 1999 in East Hampton, NY
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Context & Setting
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Catch-22 was written during the 1950's in the
years following the end of WWII, but is set during
the final couple years of the war
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The tone of the novel takes on an anti-war
sentiment even though WWII was popular
among Americans
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Set on the island of Pianosa on an American Air
Force Base which is a few miles away from
where Heller was stationed during the war
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The 50s was a decade of repression in the
United States
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McCarthyism: paranoia, loyalty oaths and
Americans' willingness to believe anything
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Questioning of authority
the book became more popular and relatable
during the Vietnam War, which most Americans
opposed
John Yossarian
• 28 year old bombardier
• Captain in the Fighting 256th
Squadron
• anti-heroic
• was once very brave
• isolated from the rest of the
squadron
• paranoid
• a little bit crazy
• rebellious
• very intense PTSD
• freethinker
Milo Minderbinder
• greedy
• talented businessman
• bends the rules for his
own benefit
• seems like a nice guy
but he cuts some pretty
shady deals
• represents the
corruption of capitalism
and mankind's love of
money
Colonel Cathcart
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indecisive
irrational
incompetent
continues raising the number
of missions required
wants to be a general
dishonest
dehumanizes his men
corrupt
represents everything wrong
with American bureaucracy
Minor Characters
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Doc Daneeka: The hypochondriac doctor who feels extremely sorry for himself
and no one else. He doesn't listen to anyone's problems and he explains to
Yossarian what a "catch-22" is.
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The Chaplain: He is a loyal friend to Yossarian, and is always willing to go to bat
for him with the higher-ups. His faith in God weakens as the novel progresses.
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Nately: A light-hearted 19 year old kid who falls in love with a prostitute in Rome.
His death greatly changes Yossarian.
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Major Major Major Major: He is painfully mediocre and super awkward. His
promotions distance him from the others in the squadron and promote his
loneliness. People tend to avoid him
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Orr: Yossarian's roommate. He purposefully crash lands his planes on every
single mission but still manages to survive. He eventually escapes to Sweden.
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The Soldier in White: A mysterious, unknown man. He represents the
dehumanization within the war.
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Snowden: His death shattered Yossarian's courage and belief in the war. He
died in Yossarian's arms and his death is brought up several times throughout the
novel.
Plot
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Yossarian believes everyone is trying to kill him so he fakes a liver condition to
stay in the hospital, but eventually checks out because he hates the really nice
Texan.
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Nearly all the men stationed on the island want to go home, but Colonel Cathcart
keeps raising the number of missions necessary to go home.
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Yossarian tries to get Doc Daneeka to ground him on the basis of insanity, but
Doc Daneeka cannot ground him according to Army regulation Catch-22. If he
was insane he would willingly fly missions, and the only way Doc Daneeka can
ground him is if he asks for it, but asking for it proves he is sane based on the
fact that he is concerned with his personal safety. Yossarian is stuck flying
meaningless missions.
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Yossarian gets creative and does everything he can to avoid flying missions.
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Nately's lover tries to kill Yossarian every time she sees him because she thinks
he is somehow responsible for Nately's death.
Yossarian is repeatedly haunted by Snowden's death and brings it up constantly.
Meanwhile, Nately falls in love with a prostitute in Rome and eventually
convinces her to return the feelings, but he is killed on his very next mission.
...Still Plotting
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A second subplot is created involving Milo and his shady business deals.
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Eventually Milo's greed reaches a climax when he makes a deal with the Germans
(DUN DUN DUN) and bombs his own squadron killing or injuring several of his own
men.
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Back to Yossarian...he is pretty upset about Nately's death and he flat out refuses to
fly anymore missions.
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Yossarian wanders around Rome and witnesses plenty of terrible things on the
streets of the city before being arrested for not having a pass.
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Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn offer him a deal: he can receive an honorable
discharge and show support for their new policy which requires all the men to fly 80
missions OR he can face a court-martial and get in huge amounts of trouble
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Yossarian finally gets over his self-serving attitude and realizes that by accepting
the offer he would needlessly be endangering the lives of the other men.
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Yossarian says no way to that Catch-22 and makes a run for Sweden, where he
has heard Orr has escaped to as well.
Milo runs a syndicate in which he uses military pilots and planes to fly goods all
around the world, promising everyone involved a "share in the profit".
Motifs & Themes
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Catch-22
The number of missions
Washington Irving
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Absolute power of a
bureaucracy
Inevitability of death
Greed
Literary/Rhetorical Devices
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Symbolism: chocolate covered cotton alludes to
a lack of substance
Setting: Pianosa is too small, the air, the sea
Repetition of words, catchphrases and various
events
Tone
Plot